ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1248, 30 October 1875, Page 13

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A WORKING MAN, Blueiddn, writes:-" I would like to enquire through your columns whether the Government allows a contractor tostopanypartof aajau'gnioiwy? There

are on the worts in thia disfcriet 830 men, and each man has deducted from his wages tne sum of one shilling and sixpence per month, which they say is for a doctor— and yet tbere is no doctor* in the place. Here we have £24 15s. per month taken from the men, and no one knows what becomes of it. • *. W ht ?" The men are protected against the truck system (receiving goods for work instead of money) ; but there is nothing in the Instructions regarding the P l^lf n v of me &cal fees. It is a matter which lies entirely between the men and the contractor. It might be necessary to send to Port Chalmers or Dunedin for mv Z}f£ aid) and in that caße contractor f Jr v l *° P ay mt of tbe referred * «, balance (if any) on completion ci ° f * he contract, shotdd so to the Hospital. TJi P unedin --(1-) We don't care about meddbng much with the police, as it ia important that public confidence in their integrity should not be shaken. As to the policy of removing constables frequently, we do not believe in it. For the proper dischnrge of their duties, it is necessary that they s-hould be acquainted with individuals and localities. They shonia, however, be honest, steady, and vigilant. (2.) e£ i? onr complaint to the Commissioner of Police. F "A f ; C ardr °na.— The first steamer arrived at Melbourne on the 23rd August, 1835. The first steamer (the Queen) arrived at Dun- _ *°**> OQ the 21st August, 1858. G. K. S., Dunedin, asks .—"lf 1000 gallons of water will run through a pipe three inches ra diameter in one hour, what quantity 2^ ™ lnoh P J P e convey in the same time V The proportion between the discharge from pipes of different diameters is as the square* of the diameters. Thus, in the question sent, the result will be :— Ab 82 ' *l; '■ 1000 gals : 1777 7-9, or 1777 7-9 galls discharged by a pipe 4in in diameter when one 3in in diameter discharges 1000 gallfl in an hour. GEORGE WEBB, Mullocky Gully, North laieru — Answers to Nos. 64, 65, 66, 67, and 73— t00 late. John NeiU, Macrae's w-d "n^ JJSVr , ers to 72 and 72, too late. ay ' e rs " ara '— A horse knows more than a cow, and a man knows more than a ,J aß ' a There must be limits to the knowledge of a man, as well as to that of a horse. Time, space, and God are infinite— Man la finite. That the finite should compre■or X« * £ c mflru 'te wan utter impossibility. PLOKA, Dunedin, writes .—"Will you savin your next how the word Camellia should be pronounced?" It is said that this plant was named after a priest named Kamel. The second syllable should be pronounced w«, but custom is in favour of tne. D. H., Dunedin, wishes us to give him a good remedy for rats, which are very destructive in our Dunedin cellars and warehouses. We see it stated that a little powdered potash, thrown into their holes or mixed with meal and scattered in the runways, never fails to drive them away. M. C. inS., accepted ; but we do not care for original poetry unless it ia really first-rate, or at all events wygood. The same remarks will apply to essays or other pro3e writings, except such as may be of local interest. INVALID, Dunedin, writes : —" I perceive tout you are giving prescriptions for diseases^ Can you give me a cure for gout ? " Certainly. Got a nine-penny bottle of castor oil, and to every ounce add ten drops of laudanum. Rub this well into the affected limb at bed-time, and wrap it up in warm flannel. Take a bottle of sodawater every two or three hours during the paroxysm. This, with oare as to diet, may effect a cure. M. N-, Bluespur.— The quotation is from that most admirable of our classics, " The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent." We give the context :— " He shall march to hia regiment," said my Uncle Toby. "He cannot stand it," said the corporal. "He ??aU be supported," said my Uncle Toby. Hell drop at last," said the corporal, •and what will become of his boy ? " "He shall nondrop," said my Uncle Toby, firmly. A-well-a-day ! do what we can for him," said Trim, maintaining bis point, "the poor soul will die." "He shall not die, Iv O—/ cried my Uncle Toby. The Accusing Spirit, which flew up to Heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in j and the Eecording Angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear upon the word, and blotted it out for ever. M. N., Dunedin, writes:—" We hear a great deal about Shakespeare's knowledge of human nature. Will you tell me, sir, if he was a good jndge of horseflesh? I have a bet upon this point, and your answer will decide it. Answer :— No writer ever gave a better description of a horse than that to be ioundin Venus and Adonis. Here it ia:— to lunniug out * weU-proportioned steed, irifJt wl . b 5i5 ia * ure ' 8 workmanship at strife, of i«i A?*?* the Uvln £ should exceed: So did this horse excel & common one In shape, in courage, colour, pace, bd<J bone. W'W short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long, Broad chest, t uU eye, small head, and nostril wide, High crest, short ears, straight legs, and passing strone Look what a horse should have, he did not lack, Save a proud rider on so proud a back. A CONSTANT READER writes .— " Mr Reid uses the argument of the ' rights of property' against the extension of the franchise to lodgers. I had," <fe e . Our correspondent comments at some length upon Mr Reid's principles and conduct, and many of his remarks are irrelevant. We agree with him as to the equality of men in the eye of the law, but no man who has a thorough understanding of human nature will admit that all men are eqnal, and that all have an equal right to vote for legislators. We want no property qualification. What we want is a qualification based upon intelligence. *ree suffrage pre-supposesintelligent action, and if we would havVwise and just laws .we must have wise and clear-sighted legislators. For the choice of such men we must not look to the ignorant, but to the intelligent, who have been trained to understand and appreciate the rights of free men. F. L. M., Kaitangata, wishes to know where Herzegovina is, and why the rebellion there should prove so alarming to the great nations of Europe. Herzegovina ia one of fewrtS? (see map of Turkey). When the Turks crossed from Asia into European the thirteenth century, they drove the Christian population into these provinces, and kept them under harsh subjection for several centuries. At intervals, the people in these principalities have thrown off the yoke of their Mohammedan rulers, and native sovereigns reign in Wallacbia .Romania, and Servia, under the Turkish Government. The Christians of Herzegovina wish to be annexed to Hungary. Russia wants the Principalities, but England objects. They were the cause of the Unmean War, twenty years aeo A GARDENER, St iathang-lYour letter wll appear b our a«xt.